The Bolshoi

For the Russian theatre and opera company, see Bolshoi Theatre.
The Bolshoi
Background information
Origin England
Genres Post-punk, gothic rock, alternative rock, new wave
Years active 1983–1988
Labels Beggars Banquet
Website TheBolshoi.co.uk
Members Trevor Tanner
Jan Kalicki
Paul Clark
Nick Chown

The Bolshoi were a London-based music group prominent mostly in the mid to late 1980s. They are best known for the hits "Sunday Morning" and "A way" or "Away" (the name is interchangeable and has been noted as both on different albums/singles).

History

The band formed in 1984 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. The original lineup consisted of singer/guitarist Trevor Tanner, drummer Jan Kalicki, and bassist Nick Chown; Tanner and Kalicki had previously played together in the short-lived punk band Moskow, where Trevor performed as Trevor Flynn (his mother's maiden name). Early gigs supported the likes of The Cult, The March Violets and The Lords of the New Church. In 1985, the band released their debut single, "Sob Story", followed by the mini-album, Giants and their hit song "Happy Boy". Word of mouth was such that the Bolshoi were able to sell out many of their early headlining performances.

The band moved to London in 1985, and their lineup expanded to include Paul Clark on keyboards. In 1986, they released their first full-length album, Friends, and expanded their touring schedule to the U.S., South America and Poland. It was followed in 1987 by the album Lindy's Party, on which the sound was more pop-oriented. TC Wall, reviewing the album in Underground magazine, described Lindy's Party as "completely confident, commercial, professional, and dangerously catchy" and "a fine album that'll be caressed for generations".[1]

Stylistically, The Bolshoi was difficult to categorize. It has been described as a proto-goth band, similar in their live act to fellow Beggars Banquet signees, Bauhaus. Tanner was recognized for his dark, pensive lyrics that belied a social responsibility and awareness.

After the release of Lindy's Party, the band recorded a fourth album, but problems with their record label management impeded its release, and they disbanded as the 1980s drew to a close. The previously unreleased fourth album, titled Country Life, had been lost for years but has now been resurrected by Beggars Banquet with extensive help from Tanner's current record label-head, Creative Director, David Paul Wyatt Perko. This new release is now available as one of five CDs in Beggar's 5-CD box set, put out via Beggar's imprint, Arkive.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

References

  1. ↑ Wall, TC (1987) "The Bolshoi Lindy's Party", Underground, October 1987, Issue 7, p. 11
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